This invention relates generally to the field of domestic stoves or ranges and more particularly to providing an improved oven ventilating system for a range having proximity ventilation for normally exhausting cooking fumes from the top surface or cooktop.
Generally, the state of the oven venting art in ranges without proximity ventilation is to simply vent the oven to the kitchen through one of the surface cooking elements. However, a range which utilizes interchangeable modular plug-in surface elements cannot normally vent in this fashion. The present invention provides for venting the exhause fumes including heat, smoke, and odors associated with either baking or a self-cleaning cycle to the general vicinity of the proximity ventilation air intake for facilitating the conveyance of these exhaust fumes to a remote location such as out of doors.
The prior art has included venting an oven directly to a substantially closed collection box and then out doors such as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,480 issued to Nelson et al on May 6, 1952. Nelson et al teach a self-ventilating range structure including a blower unit mounted in a compartment below the oven. The rear of the range includes a collector box with an air intake spaced substantially above the top surface of the range. The collector box is rectangular in shape, covers the back of the range and is an extension of the back splash. The central portion of the bottom of the collector box tapers into a conduit which leads to the blower intake. The rear of the oven includes a vent opening which is in direct communication with the collector box for venting exhaust fumes thereinto.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,067 issued to Rawald et al on May 21, 1968, there is shown a self-cleaning, wall mounted oven arrangement. In this oven arrangement, the oven cavity is suspended within an outer shell so that cooling air can flow freely around all of the oven walls. A blower is located in the top wall of the outer shell and when the blower is operated cooling air is drawn around the oven walls. Exhaust air is pulled from the oven through slots adjacent the top front door area and mixed with the cooling air in the substantially closed intermediate chamber.
In a self-ventilated range such as disclosed in Nelson et al, the oven is directly vented into a plenum or collection box associated with the blower intake. This oven venting arrangement necessitates that the blower be non-operational during baking since heated air will be pulled directly from the oven cavity. This direct evacuation of heated air would cause cycling of the oven thermostats and the oven baking performance would be uneven.
The prior art relating to venting an oven thus includes simple venting into the kitchen environment through a surface cooking element. Also, a system has been shown in which the oven is vented directly into the generally closed collector box of a blower apparatus and the vapors are then exhausted out of doors. Still another system describes oven cooling apparatus in which cooling air is drawn around the oven chamber and oven exhaust fumes are mixed with the cooling air and then directed out of doors. Until the present invention, there has been no known showing of an oven venting arrangement combined with a proximity ventilating system in which oven exhaust fumes are conducted to the kitchen environment in the general vicinity of the range top near the air inlet of the proximity ventilation system. The oven exhaust fumes are captured by the proximity ventilating system when operating or are vented to the kitchen environment if not operating with performance of the oven being consistent and independent of the proximity ventilating system.